Anniversary for POLITICO in Europe: German special supplement marks successful first year

The European edition of POLITICO – a joint venture of Axel Springer and POLITICO in the USA – will celebrate its one-year anniversary tomorrow. Thanks to its unique perspective on European politics and broad portfolio featuring a website, newsletters, a print newspaper, and news services for professionals, POLITICO has established itself as one of the most influential news sources in Brussels. Its first anniversary will also be celebrated with a special POLITICO supplement in German language that will appear in DIE WELT on Friday.

Building up the largest newsroom for EU coverage in Brussels, the European edition of POLITICO has made a name for itself amongst the target group of EU decision-makers. An annual study by ComRes and Burson-Marsteller in January 2016 revealed POLITICO in Europe to be the publication most read by political experts in Brussels. At the same time, the website POLITICO.eu and the POLITICO newsletter are enjoying increasing hit rates and subscription numbers. And more and more political professionals are also subscribing to the paid POLITICO Pro services for their profound analysis and background articles.

Ralph Büchi, President International Axel Springer: "We are very happy with the work of the team in Brussels, which, in only one year, has built a widely recognized publication. POLITICO in Europe shows how the creation of new journalistic products can succeed – with a clear focus on high-quality content and on innovative paid offerings, such as POLITICO Pro."

Robert Allbritton, Executive Chairman and CEO of POLITICO in the US: “Our joint venture with Axel Springer continues to impress and exceed both shareholders' very high editorial and business expectations. Our European venture shows that a strong team, a proven business formula, and journalistic impact are the ingredients for a successful modern media company.”

German POLITICO special supplement profiles Europe's political elite

To mark its first anniversary, the European edition of POLITICO is issuing a special supplement for a German audience. The 16-page supplement, in the style of the POLITICO print edition, will be included with DIE WELT on April 22, 2016 and, among other stories, features a profile of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, an analysis of the impact of the Panama Papers at the European level, and a printed version of "Morgen Europa", the German-language morning e-mail newsletter written by Florian Eder. German readers and potential advertising clients will be able to better get to know the POLITICO brand with the help of this special supplement.

The POLITICO joint venture, headed by Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson as Managing Director, was launched on Apri 21, 2015 and set out to report on the EU and its protagonists in a novel way – without national bias, with a focus on personalities, providing background information and speed. Some of the key stories in the first year included exclusive insights into the power struggles at the head of the European Parliament, plans of the French minister for economic affairs, Emmanuel Macron, for launching a new political movement, and slip-ups by the Belgian police in the run-up to the Brussels terrorist attacks. POLITICO's editorial team, led by Matthew Kaminski as Executive Editor, now numbers 50 journalists from 19 countries in its Brussels newsroom and in bureaus in Germany, France, and Great Britain.

POLITICO reaches EU Commissioners, parliamentarians, and ambassadors

One of the products of the European edition of POLITICO is the website POLITICO.eu, which reaches between one and one and a half million unique visitors every month, and a weekly print edition, which is distributed to almost 30,000 readers in Brussels and other European centers. The "Brussels Playbook" – Ryan Heath's weekday morning newsletter – reaches 50,000 readers, including numerous EU Commissioners, parliamentarians, and ambassadors. The readership of Francesco Guerrera's financial newsletter "Morning Exchange" and that of Florian Eder's German newsletter "Morgen Europa" are both steadily growing.

Apart from many highly acclaimed events, the portfolio also features POLITICO Pro – the real-time news service for policy professionals. A subscription to Pro includes special newsletters, access to background articles and analysis, as well as customizable breaking news alerts in six fields: Energy, Technology, Health, Finance and, starting in June 2016, also Agriculture/Food and Trade. The Pro services today reach many thousands of political experts and decision-makers in over 200 organizations, including government agencies, associations, companies and NGOs.